Columbus Streetcar
Encyclopedia
The Columbus Streetcar was a proposed streetcar
system to be located in and close to Downtown
Columbus, Ohio
, USA. Initially planned to run along High Street, the line would have run for 2.8 miles (4.5 km) and connected the Ohio State
campus with the Franklin County
Government Center. As of February 2009, the plan is indefinitely on hold. Discussion of a larger scale light rail
system which would run along the streetcar route and also connect the northern part of the city to downtown is ongoing.
Initially proposed in a February 2006 State of the City speech by Mayor Michael Coleman
, the new system is touted as a tool to connect the various sections of downtown as well as promote development. On 22 March 2006, the mayor convened a working group consisting of various political and business leaders as well as community stakeholders to investigate the feasibility of returning streetcars to the city. Initially, three routes were proposed. A Blue line route would run along High Street from Frankfort Street in German Village
to Buttles Avenue in the Short North. A Red line route would extend the blue line north to 11th Avenue adjacent to the Ohio State campus. A Green Line (initially called the Z-line) would run in a Z pattern from the Arena District
to the Discovery District around the Main Library. After the results of the economic study showed 3,000 new downtown jobs, 300 hotel rooms and 1,500 new housing units from the most conservative standpoint, the working group voted overwhelmingly in favor of pursuing a streetcar system in Columbus.
Unlike recently built systems in Kenosha
and Little Rock
, the Columbus system will not use vintage cars or equipment. Media reports have often used the term "trolley" to describe the new system, to which Mayor Coleman has publicly stated his dislike. He cited the fact that the system will use modern cars similar to the Portland Streetcar
, and will not be intended as a tourist attraction.
The proposal has gained support from organizations such as the Columbus chapter of the American Institute of Architects
, Experience Columbus, the Ohio Rail Development Commission, COTA
, the Building Owners and Managers Association of Columbus, and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. In a survey of 1,000 downtown residents, employees, and students, 73% said they would ride the streetcar if it were built. Ridership is projected to be between 5,000 and 7,200 riders per day depending on the final route chosen.
$103 million. Mayor Coleman has proposed a funding plan which will rely on fees rather than income or property taxes. The majority of the funding will come from sources within a "benefit zone" which is the area within six blocks of the route. A 4% surcharge would be added to concert, sport, and theatre tickets with a face value above $10. Parking meter rates would be raised by 75¢ per hour, and all money from meters in the area would go to funding the streetcar. Off street parking in lots and garages would also be subject to the 4% fee. The Ohio State University pledged to provide $12.5 million over 25 years. Various small federal grants are also expected to support the streetcar.
The funding system was designed such that Columbus residents who live in suburban areas far away from the line will not have any of their tax dollars diverted to fund the system. It is not yet clear how people who work downtown and park in employer owned garages would be affected.
to Mound Street. When traffic dropped off after the Civil War
, the Columbus Street Railroad Company faced financial difficulties, but started making a profit by 1868. Following the stabilization of the High Street line, the Friend Street Railroad Company set up shop in the same year, first reaching East Public Lane (now Parsons Avenue) and eventually reaching the Fairgrounds (now Franklin Park).
Subsequently, the North Columbus Railroad Company, East Park Place Street Railroad Company, State and Oak Street Railroad Company, and the Glenwood & Green Lawn Railroad Company were formed. The horse powered cars were slow, but made it possible to travel to locations within the city that were beyond a comfortable walking distance. Mergers were frequent, and the Columbus Railroad Company (formerly CSRC) merged with the Friend Street Railroad Company and the East Park Place Railroad Company. The new venture was known as the "Columbus Consolidated Street Railroad Company". The State and Oak Street lines were bought by the new company in the following years.
It was also during this era that long distance rail travel became quite popular. The High Street line faced delays of up to seven hours per day due to the grade level crossing of 10 tracks across High Street at Union Station. To remedy the problem, subway tunnels were built under the tracks. They were dark, and the smell from the horse droppings made the trip unpleasant. From the period of 1863-1892, more than a dozen horsecar companies set up shop in the city, and total trackage was expanded to 34.5 miles (55.5 km) prior to electrification.
In 1888, the first electric powered streetcar ran on Chittenden Avenue from High Street to the current site of the Ohio State Fair
. However, it was not successful initially. The first line with successful electrification was the Glenwood & Green Lawn Street Railroad (with trackage mainly along Broad Street), which was completed in August 1890. The High Street, Long Street, and Mount Vernon Avenue lines were electrified in the following year. The advantages in speed and cleanliness quickly made equestrian power obsolete, and the last horse drawn car ran in 1892. Also in that year, yet another naming change came with the sale of the Columbus Consolidated Street Railroad Company to the newly formed "Columbus Street Railway Company" for $3,000,000. At this time, the Glenwood & Green Lawn line was acquired. In 1895, the Columbus Railway, Power and Light Company purchased an amusement park that would be known as Olentangy Park
. It was located on the southern end of Clintonville. The idea behind the purchase was to increase ridership on the line during non-peak hours by providing an attractive destination at the terminus. Likewise, other transit companies built Indianola Park
on North Fourth Street and Minerva Park
in the village of the same name.
Electric power ushered in the golden age of street traction in Columbus. In 1899, the subway tunnels were replaced with an Arcade which ran above the tracks. The system was so popular that Columbus Railway Power & Light experimented with a double deck streetcar in 1914. However, the delays in loading and unloading gave the bi-level design no advantage over its standard counterpart, and the cars were quickly retired. Total trackage reached 71 miles (114 km) by 1916, and the system carried 66,000,000 paying passengers with an additional 16,000,000 people riding on transfer tickets that year. By 1927, steetcars ran to Bexley
, Gahanna
, Green Lawn Cemetery, Minerva Park
, Marble Cliff
, Upper Arlington
, Westerville
, and Worthington
.
Most streetcar lines in Columbus used a broad gauge
track which measured . Building non-standard gauge was sometimes used as a way to keep long distance passenger and freight railroads from accidentally or intentionally running their cars on city streets. However, some lines built in the late 1800s used the standard gauge
width, such as the Worthington Line which ran long Summit Street, Hudson Avenue, Arcadia Avenue, and High Street. With the advent of the interurban, many sections of dual gauge
track were built to allow the streetcars
and interurban
s to use the same route despite their different widths.
In 1933, a decision was made to gradually convert the system to trolley buses
(trackless trams). Slowed by the effects of the Great Depression
and World War II
, the process took 15 years to compete. On 5 September 1948, the last two fixed rail tram
s ran along Neil Avenue and Main Street. A lack of investment in maintenance of the tracks
, as well as the age of the automobile had slowly brought the demise of the system. The trolley buses did not last long either, being gradually replaced by diesel buses as well. The last trolley bus ran on 30 May 1965.
Despite some changes over the years, many current COTA buses run the same routes as the former streetcars. Bus route numbers 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15, 16, 19, and 54 deviate very little from the path taken by their railed predecessors.
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
system to be located in and close to Downtown
Downtown Columbus
Downtown Columbus is the Central Business District of Columbus, Ohio, United States. The area centers around the intersection of Broad Street and High Street, with the northeast corners being known simple as Broad & High by the surrounding businesses and media...
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, USA. Initially planned to run along High Street, the line would have run for 2.8 miles (4.5 km) and connected the Ohio State
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
campus with the Franklin County
Franklin County, Ohio
Franklin County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. In 2010 the population was 1,163,414, making it the second largest county in Ohio and the 34th largest county in population in the United States. Franklin County is also the largest in the eight-county Columbus, Ohio...
Government Center. As of February 2009, the plan is indefinitely on hold. Discussion of a larger scale light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
system which would run along the streetcar route and also connect the northern part of the city to downtown is ongoing.
Plans for a modern system
Michael B. Coleman
Michael B. Coleman is an American politician of the Democratic Party, the 52nd and current mayor of Columbus, Ohio. He is the first African-American mayor of Ohio's capital....
, the new system is touted as a tool to connect the various sections of downtown as well as promote development. On 22 March 2006, the mayor convened a working group consisting of various political and business leaders as well as community stakeholders to investigate the feasibility of returning streetcars to the city. Initially, three routes were proposed. A Blue line route would run along High Street from Frankfort Street in German Village
German Village
German Village is a historic neighborhood just south of downtown Columbus. It was settled by a large number of German immigrants in the early-to-mid-19th century, who at one time comprised as much as a third of the population of the entire city...
to Buttles Avenue in the Short North. A Red line route would extend the blue line north to 11th Avenue adjacent to the Ohio State campus. A Green Line (initially called the Z-line) would run in a Z pattern from the Arena District
Arena District
The Arena District is a , mixed-use urban infill, master planned development located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. It is characterized by its New Urbanism layout, mixed-use, and neo-classical American design. The architecture is of the Chicago School style, being influenced by Daniel Burnham in...
to the Discovery District around the Main Library. After the results of the economic study showed 3,000 new downtown jobs, 300 hotel rooms and 1,500 new housing units from the most conservative standpoint, the working group voted overwhelmingly in favor of pursuing a streetcar system in Columbus.
Unlike recently built systems in Kenosha
Streetcars in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Streetcars have been running in Kenosha, Wisconsin for more than 100 years through a variety of companies and routes.-Kenosha Electric Railway:...
and Little Rock
River Rail Streetcar
The River Rail Streetcar is a heritage streetcar system operating in Little Rock and North Little Rock in the U.S. state of Arkansas. It has operated since November 1, 2004. As of February 17, 2007, the system is long after its first extension was put into service...
, the Columbus system will not use vintage cars or equipment. Media reports have often used the term "trolley" to describe the new system, to which Mayor Coleman has publicly stated his dislike. He cited the fact that the system will use modern cars similar to the Portland Streetcar
Portland Streetcar
The Portland Streetcar is a streetcar system in Portland, Oregon, that opened in 2001 and serves areas surrounding downtown Portland. It is currently a single line that is almost long and serves some 12,000 daily riders, but a second line is expected to open in 2012.As with the heavier-duty MAX...
, and will not be intended as a tourist attraction.
The proposal has gained support from organizations such as the Columbus chapter of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
, Experience Columbus, the Ohio Rail Development Commission, COTA
Cota
-Abbreviations:* Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant* Celebration of the Arts Festival* Central Ohio Transit Authority* Circuit of the Americas* The Children's Organ Transplant Association * College of the Arts, Windhoek...
, the Building Owners and Managers Association of Columbus, and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. In a survey of 1,000 downtown residents, employees, and students, 73% said they would ride the streetcar if it were built. Ridership is projected to be between 5,000 and 7,200 riders per day depending on the final route chosen.
Funding
The initial system is projected to cost approximately USUnited States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$103 million. Mayor Coleman has proposed a funding plan which will rely on fees rather than income or property taxes. The majority of the funding will come from sources within a "benefit zone" which is the area within six blocks of the route. A 4% surcharge would be added to concert, sport, and theatre tickets with a face value above $10. Parking meter rates would be raised by 75¢ per hour, and all money from meters in the area would go to funding the streetcar. Off street parking in lots and garages would also be subject to the 4% fee. The Ohio State University pledged to provide $12.5 million over 25 years. Various small federal grants are also expected to support the streetcar.
The funding system was designed such that Columbus residents who live in suburban areas far away from the line will not have any of their tax dollars diverted to fund the system. It is not yet clear how people who work downtown and park in employer owned garages would be affected.
History
First formed in 1854, the Columbus Street Railroad Company was authorized by the city to build a number of lines, but nothing came about initially. A Horse powered streetcar line first ran along High Street on 10 June 1863. Similar to the proposed modern line, the initial line ran for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Union StationUnion Station (Columbus, Ohio)
Columbus Union Station and its predecessors served railroad passengers in Columbus, Ohio from February 27, 1850, until April 28, 1977.- History :Columbus Union Station as it is recalled today was actually the third Union Station in Columbus...
to Mound Street. When traffic dropped off after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the Columbus Street Railroad Company faced financial difficulties, but started making a profit by 1868. Following the stabilization of the High Street line, the Friend Street Railroad Company set up shop in the same year, first reaching East Public Lane (now Parsons Avenue) and eventually reaching the Fairgrounds (now Franklin Park).
Subsequently, the North Columbus Railroad Company, East Park Place Street Railroad Company, State and Oak Street Railroad Company, and the Glenwood & Green Lawn Railroad Company were formed. The horse powered cars were slow, but made it possible to travel to locations within the city that were beyond a comfortable walking distance. Mergers were frequent, and the Columbus Railroad Company (formerly CSRC) merged with the Friend Street Railroad Company and the East Park Place Railroad Company. The new venture was known as the "Columbus Consolidated Street Railroad Company". The State and Oak Street lines were bought by the new company in the following years.
In 1888, the first electric powered streetcar ran on Chittenden Avenue from High Street to the current site of the Ohio State Fair
Ohio State Fair
The Ohio State Fair is one of the largest state fairs in the United States. In 2011 the attendance was 833,000, the fair's highest attendance since 2004. The state fair contributes as much as 280 million dollars to the state economy...
. However, it was not successful initially. The first line with successful electrification was the Glenwood & Green Lawn Street Railroad (with trackage mainly along Broad Street), which was completed in August 1890. The High Street, Long Street, and Mount Vernon Avenue lines were electrified in the following year. The advantages in speed and cleanliness quickly made equestrian power obsolete, and the last horse drawn car ran in 1892. Also in that year, yet another naming change came with the sale of the Columbus Consolidated Street Railroad Company to the newly formed "Columbus Street Railway Company" for $3,000,000. At this time, the Glenwood & Green Lawn line was acquired. In 1895, the Columbus Railway, Power and Light Company purchased an amusement park that would be known as Olentangy Park
Olentangy Park
Formerly located in Columbus, Ohio in the area of Clintonville, in the early years of the 20th century Olentangy Park was the largest amusement park in the United States.-The 1880 to 1899 "The Villa":...
. It was located on the southern end of Clintonville. The idea behind the purchase was to increase ridership on the line during non-peak hours by providing an attractive destination at the terminus. Likewise, other transit companies built Indianola Park
Indianola Park
Indianola Park was an amusement park that operated in the University District in Columbus, Ohio from 1905-37.-Location:The entrance to Indianola Park was at N. 4th St. and E. 19th Ave. The park itself covered approximately and extended from E. 18th Ave. north to E. Norwich Ave. and east from N....
on North Fourth Street and Minerva Park
Minerva Park, Ohio
Minerva Park is a village in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,288 at the 2000 census.The communities of Minerva Park, Bexley, Whitehall, and Valleyview are enclaves of Columbus.-Geography:...
in the village of the same name.
Electric power ushered in the golden age of street traction in Columbus. In 1899, the subway tunnels were replaced with an Arcade which ran above the tracks. The system was so popular that Columbus Railway Power & Light experimented with a double deck streetcar in 1914. However, the delays in loading and unloading gave the bi-level design no advantage over its standard counterpart, and the cars were quickly retired. Total trackage reached 71 miles (114 km) by 1916, and the system carried 66,000,000 paying passengers with an additional 16,000,000 people riding on transfer tickets that year. By 1927, steetcars ran to Bexley
Bexley, Ohio
Bexley is an affluent suburban city in Franklin County, Ohio. Founded as a village over a hundred years ago, the City of Bexley is an old, tree-lined suburb of Columbus, the state capital of Ohio, situated on the banks of Alum Creek next to Driving Park and Wolfe Park, just east of the Franklin...
, Gahanna
Gahanna, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 32,636 people, 11,990 households, and 8,932 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,632.8 people per square mile . There were 12,390 housing units at an average density of 999.5 per square mile...
, Green Lawn Cemetery, Minerva Park
Minerva Park, Ohio
Minerva Park is a village in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,288 at the 2000 census.The communities of Minerva Park, Bexley, Whitehall, and Valleyview are enclaves of Columbus.-Geography:...
, Marble Cliff
Marble Cliff, Ohio
Marble Cliff is a village in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 646 at the 2000 census.Marble Cliff was one of the first suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, settled as a community in 1890 and incorporated as the "Hamlet of Marble Cliff" in 1901. It took its name from the Marble Cliff...
, Upper Arlington
Upper Arlington, Ohio
Upper Arlington is a suburban city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, on the northwest side of the Columbus metropolitan area. The population was 33,686 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, Westerville
Westerville, Ohio
Westerville, once known as "The Dry Capital of the World", is a city in Franklin and Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 35,318 at the 2000 census.-Early history:...
, and Worthington
Worthington, Ohio
-Dissolution of the Company:By August 11, 1804 the plat maps were completed, payments or notes promising payments collected and deeds prepared for all sixteen thousand acres of the Scioto Company's purchase...
.
Most streetcar lines in Columbus used a broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
track which measured . Building non-standard gauge was sometimes used as a way to keep long distance passenger and freight railroads from accidentally or intentionally running their cars on city streets. However, some lines built in the late 1800s used the standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
width, such as the Worthington Line which ran long Summit Street, Hudson Avenue, Arcadia Avenue, and High Street. With the advent of the interurban, many sections of dual gauge
Dual gauge
A dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...
track were built to allow the streetcars
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
and interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
s to use the same route despite their different widths.
In 1933, a decision was made to gradually convert the system to trolley buses
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
(trackless trams). Slowed by the effects of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the process took 15 years to compete. On 5 September 1948, the last two fixed rail tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s ran along Neil Avenue and Main Street. A lack of investment in maintenance of the tracks
Tramway track
Tramway track is used on tramways or light rail operations. Grooved rails are often used in order to make street running feasible...
, as well as the age of the automobile had slowly brought the demise of the system. The trolley buses did not last long either, being gradually replaced by diesel buses as well. The last trolley bus ran on 30 May 1965.
Despite some changes over the years, many current COTA buses run the same routes as the former streetcars. Bus route numbers 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15, 16, 19, and 54 deviate very little from the path taken by their railed predecessors.